The present disclosure relates generally to equipment utilized and operations performed in conjunction with a subterranean well and, in an embodiment described herein, more particularly provides a valve device and associated methods of selectively communicating between an interior and an exterior of a tubular string.
In certain well operations, it is desirable to provide for selective fluid communication between the interior and exterior of a tubular string. For example, in a single trip multi-zone gravel packing operation, several packers in a tubular string may be set in a wellbore. Selective communication between the interior and exterior of the tubular string is desirable in this operation to provide for testing of the packers prior to gravel packing.
In the past, this packer testing function has been accomplished by opening ports in the packers themselves or in the tubular string between the packers. Unfortunately, these techniques have also involved either opening ports which cannot be re-closed, or manipulating another service string within the tubular string.
It will be appreciated that a permanently open port in the tubular string is highly detrimental if its associated packer is leaking (e.g., requiring that the tubular string be retrieved from the well), and that intervening into the tubular string with another service string (or wireline, etc.) is time-consuming and hazardous.
Therefore, it may be seen that improvements are needed in the art of providing selective communication between the interior and exterior of a tubular string. Such improvements would be useful in packer testing as discussed above, and also in other operations such as circulating, cementing, acidizing, fracturing, producing, injecting, conformance, etc.